


(It Could Be Wrong) But It Should've Been Right

by couronnedesfleurs



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy, Star Wars: Clone Wars (2003) - All Media Types, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Ambiguous/Open Ending, Anakin Skywalker Needs a Hug, Angst, Dark Obi-Wan Kenobi, Gen, Heavy Angst, Minor Padmé Amidala/Anakin Skywalker, Possessive Obi-Wan Kenobi, Sith Obi-Wan Kenobi, Threats of Violence, Unhealthy Relationships
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-21
Updated: 2020-08-21
Packaged: 2021-03-06 15:35:38
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,248
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26021278
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/couronnedesfleurs/pseuds/couronnedesfleurs
Summary: Obi-Wan falls to the dark side instead of Anakin, but he has a score to settle with his old padawan. Idea from a tumblr prompt.
Relationships: Obi-Wan Kenobi/Anakin Skywalker
Comments: 18
Kudos: 276





	(It Could Be Wrong) But It Should've Been Right

**Author's Note:**

> Idea from a tumblr prompt, fic title from Resistance by Muse.

‘Hello Anakin.’

Anakin whipped around in shock at the painfully familiar voice, and laid eyes on the man he’d irrevocably lost three weeks prior.

The corner of Obi-Wan’s mouth quirked upwards as he lounged against the bedroom door. He seemed vaguely amused at Anakin’s reaction.

‘You don’t look very pleased to see me, dearest.’

‘O-Obi-Wan,’ Anakin stammered, hardly daring to believe his eyes, ‘what are you _doing_ here?’

‘Am I not allowed to visit my favourite padawan?’

_I am **not** your padawan anymore. _

‘Ah, but that’s where you’re wrong, Anakin. You will always be my padawan-’

‘ _Don’t_ poke around in my head,’ Anakin growled, hand flying to his belt before remembering he’d left his lightsaber in the bedroom, lowering his guard too soon like an inexperienced kriffing youngling.

‘I don’t have to. Your thoughts are flooding out into the Force without any help from me. Your shields are _atrocious_ ; I thought I taught you better than that. Though I shouldn’t complain. It just made it easier for me to find you.’

Anakin looked away. He despised the mild teasing tone in Obi-Wan’s voice, like he was letting Anakin in on a private joke. It reminded him of days past when Obi-Wan would whisper secretly in his ear, hounded by an indignant Ahsoka who wanted to be in on it too. He had felt somehow special, superior, specifically chosen by Obi-Wan to be his closest confidante. But it was Anakin who was the joke, who had been played for a fool, who had been betrayed by his master and his best friend, the man he l-

_No._

Anakin glanced back at Obi-Wan, who was watching him closely, and made his decision.

He owed it to all the years they had spent together. He had to at least _try_ to get through to his fallen master.

He took a deep breath.

‘Obi-Wan…I believe in you. I know that you wouldn’t have done those things if you’d had a choice. If you come with me, I’ll vouch for you in front of the council. We can fix this, if you’d just come back!’ 

Desperation seeped into his voice as he pleaded with Obi-Wan. He wanted things to be as they were. He was content to keep his feelings hidden, as long as his master was back on the council and on the side of the light where he belonged.

Obi-Wan’s smile widened, and for a breathless moment Anakin held hope in his heart.

‘That’s very sweet of you, Anakin, not to mention noble. But I do not need you to defend my honour. I am quite happy where I am.’

He surveyed the room with unveiled distaste as Anakin’s heart sank.

‘W-what do you mean-?’

‘Why have you been hiding from me in this decrepit hovel, Anakin?’ Obi-Wan cut over his question with unsettling ease.

Anakin registered for the first time the alarm bells that had been ringing through the Force, telling him that something was seriously wrong.

‘I-I’ve been stationed here on a secret mission, by order of Master Y-’

‘You picked up many bad habits as my padawan, but I never thought lying was one of them. Was it Master Windu who secreted you here?’

His voice was sharp, and Anakin had flashbacks to the multitude of times he’d been scolded by Obi-Wan as a youngling for behaving badly.

The little Tatooine slave boy, so desperate for affection and praise and attention, clearly still lurked in him somewhere, beneath all his carefully maintained shields, as he found himself obediently nodding. Obi-Wan chuckled humourlessly.

‘I had guessed as much. He always was incredibly hard on you, forever jealous of your abilities. It makes sense that he would try to lock you away. Did he tell you I would harm you?’

Actually, he had told Anakin that Obi-Wan would kill him, but he felt it wise to leave that part unsaid.

‘It is of little consequence now. I wouldn’t rest until I found you, and now I have you. You led me on quite a chase, Anakin. I should be angry, but it was almost fun. They should have known better than to try and deceive me. The _Council_ are no match for me.’

Anakin didn’t like that satisfied glint in his eyes, the eyes that were usually so calm and wise that he had always admired and venerated.

‘What have you done to them?!’

‘Don’t worry your pretty little head over it. Let’s just say that Master Windu and I had a…disagreement. I wouldn’t expect to be seeing him again if I were you.’

Anakin inhaled sharply. If Obi-Wan had become powerful enough to kill _Windu,_ of all people, then what hope was there for the rest of them?

He thought that turning to the dark side would have disfigured Obi-Wan horribly, that he would have become unrecognisable and repulsive- a monstrous exterior to match his blackened heart. If anything, it was the opposite. He looked as handsome and debonair as ever, and the dark robes he was wearing highlighted the auburn sheen of his hair and the intense aquamarine stare that Anakin had spent many hours thinking about-

Anakin batted the thoughts away hastily, rose dusting his cheeks. This was no longer _his_ Obi-Wan. His master would never have behaved so abhorrently, betraying his closest friends and murdering his way to power.

‘Why did you do it?!’

Obi-Wan laughed. The sound still made Anakin’s heart skip a beat, which made him feel slightly sick.

‘Isn’t that obvious, dearest? He was stubborn, too set in his ways to truly see the corruption at the heart of the Council, as well as the Republic. He was in my way, so I removed him from the equation.’

‘But how could you _do_ that?’ Anakin cried, ‘He was your _friend-_ ’

‘He was an arrogant fool who thought he could keep you from me, turn you against me. Thought he could _conceal_ you from me. He was woefully mistaken.’

The smile had dropped from Obi-Wan’s face, all trace of teasing in his voice completely vanished. His eyes were boring into Anakin so intently that he had to look away for fear of being ensnared by his gaze.

‘How did you get in here?’

He was stalling for time now. It was the only thing that might save him.

Obi-Wan raised an elegant eyebrow.

‘For such an interesting person, darling, you are asking the _dullest_ questions. I’m a Sith Lord; I can go anywhere I please.’

Even though he had realised the truth in his heart, the verbal confirmation still sank his fleeting hopes like a dove shot from the sky.

‘Not here. I want you to leave. You aren’t welcome here.’

_Not after what you’ve done._

‘But that’s not quite true, is it Anakin?’

Anakin swallowed. Someone at the temple must have felt the disturbance in the Force. Someone _must_ know that Obi-Wan had finally found him. Someone would come to help him. If he could just wait this out, survive a few more minutes...

‘I don’t know what you mean.’ He tried to inject as much nonchalance into his voice as possible.

Obi-Wan smiled again, the familiar dimple creasing in his cheek, and Anakin was horrified to feel the butterflies in his stomach he was intimate with by now flitter in agitation, buried beneath a growing surge of panic.

‘There’s no need to play coy, dearest. I know _everything._ Tell me, is Senator Amidala aware her husband is in love with another man?’

Anakin blanched, his knuckles whitening, and Obi-Wan took a step towards him.

‘Oh come now Anakin, there’s no shame in it. Especially when your feelings are more than reciprocated.’

The butterflies lurched and scattered.

‘Don’t toy with me,’ Anakin snarled, skittering backwards.

‘I would never toy with you. Unless you wanted me to.’

His voice had lowered, his eyes smouldering with promise. He was far too close.

_Kriff._

Pushing down the pulsing of his heart that had decided to start competing in the pod races, Anakin mentally calculated the distance between himself and the door.

‘I don’t know what kind of sadistic mind game you think you’re playing, _Sith,_ but it won’t work on me.’

His back met the wall and he stumbled, steadying himself with his hands.

Obi-Wan advanced on him further.

‘That’s no way to talk to your master, Anakin. Especially when they’re declaring their love to you.’

The Force thrummed with the truth of his statement.

Once upon a time, in the not so distant past, he would’ve felt elation at this moment, the words he’d been dreaming of for so long finally uttered out loud. But not like this. Not now that Obi-Wan had destroyed everything Anakin held dear. The enchantment he should have felt was submerged by an overwhelming wave of grief, floundering in an unforgiving riptide that had torn it from the safety of the shore.

‘How _dare_ you.’

Tears were pricking at his eyes, and he furiously blinked them away.

‘How can you say that after all the things you’ve done?! You’ve betrayed your brotherhood, turned your back on the people you swore to protect, lost yourself in your greed for power! You desecrated my memory of you. You make a mockery of my feelings. You are _nothing_ to me now.’

Obi-Wan’s brow creased slightly.

‘I know you are upset, Anakin, so I will forgive you for saying things you don’t mean.’

He reached out a hand, and for a moment Anakin saw the old Obi-Wan flicker over his features, eyes filled with warmth and love. Only a few weeks ago, he would’ve given anything for Obi-Wan to look at him like that, like he was the only living thing that mattered in the Force.

‘I know this must be confusing for you, darling. I should be more patient. So much has changed in such a short space of time. But I promise you, I am the same Obi-Wan. Your master, your friend, and the man who loves you. The only difference now is that I am no longer misguided or weakened by the Jedi. You are the most precious person in the galaxy to me, and now I can protect you and care for you openly as I always should have been able to. I could not let the Jedi keep us apart. Our bond was forged from the Force itself; even Qui-Gonn could not have trained you as impeccably as I have. He is most anxious to see you again, by the way. He and Dooku look forward to welcoming you to our ranks. With your power, nothing will hold us back. We will be unstoppable.’

Anakin choked on a sob as Obi-Wan grasped Anakin’s hand, fingers tightening when Anakin tried to tug free.

‘So you only ever wanted me for my power? Because I’m the kriffing _chosen one_?!’ he spat, utterly heartbroken, uncaring of the lone tear that trickled down his face.

Obi-Wan used his other hand to wipe it away, his fingers lingering on Anakin’s cheek and grazing over his scar, cradling the soft skin reverently like he couldn’t quite believe he was touching him.

‘Have you not listened to a word I’ve just said, dearest?’ His tone was exasperatedly fond, as though Anakin had simply crashed yet another ship in the pursuit of successfully completing a mission.

‘With all my being, I love you. Not because you are the chosen one, not because the Jedi covet you, not because all the other Sith are desperate to get their hands on you. I love you because you are Anakin Skywalker, and there is no one else like you.’

 _Please, let this be a nightmare,_ he begged the Force, wishing he would wake up in Padmé’s arms and this would all be over.

_But this is what you **wanted**. _

He couldn’t deny the small voice that answered back, exposing his darkest secret that he’d kept hidden in the depths of his soul.

‘Admit it, Anakin. You have yearned for me as I’ve yearned for you. I know your marriage to Padmé was a mistake, as do you. If you’d known of my true feelings, you would never have done it.’

He stared at Anakin, who was frozen in place by the emotions swirling in those eyes that could see right through him and his carefully manufactured shields. It was intoxicating being so close to the object of his deep seated desires.

‘We have missed out on so much. But there is no need for us to be separated any longer. Join me at my side, Anakin, where you were always destined to be. It is the will of the Force, and my dearest wish.’

He tenderly stroked Anakin’s cheekbone, leaning in closer, now inches away from his face. Anakin shuddered, lashes fluttering and casting shadows over their faces, and tilted his head to meet Obi-Wan’s mouth in a long awaited ki-

_No._

_He’s a Sith._

_He’s a MURDERER._

Anakin pulled away, the stone-cold truth cutting through his misplaced fantasies of being able to love Obi-Wan freely, in a world where he had committed no crimes. Instead of Obi-Wan’s searching gaze, he saw Padmé, her beautiful brown eyes kind and fierce. He did not deserve her love, but he would not sully their marriage. Not now that Obi-Wan was lost to the light forever.

‘Sorry to disappoint, _master’_ Anakin hissed, and jerked Obi-Wan into the wall with a blast of the Force. He darted into the bedroom and grabbed his lightsaber from where he’d carelessly left it, wasting no time in activating the blade.

He spun to find a furious Obi-Wan right behind him, part of his face ignited from the glow of the saber where his eyes gleamed predatorily, the other half shrouded in darkness.

‘Put that away, Anakin. You won’t be needing it.’ He spoke as if Anakin was an obstinate youngling, refusing to stop playing with his toys.

Anakin thought of the Jedi who had been mindlessly slaughtered, of Master Windu, of Ahsoka, of _Padmé-_

He swung his saber and found his hit parried by a blood red blade.

‘You really don’t want to do this, my love.’

Anakin’s eyes narrowed.

‘Yes, I _do.’_

Seeing the red lightsaber, the mark of a Sith, the devastatingly undeniable proof of Obi-Wan’s betrayal, lit a fire in Anakin that he did not know he possessed. He attacked with a feverish rage, all of his feelings that had been locked away since news broke of Obi-Wan’s treachery crashing through the flood gates as he swiped and hacked at his former master.

Obi-Wan had always been an excellent match to his skillset. But it was clear that something had changed. Where they had once been equal, he now seemed able to guess Anakin’s next move before Anakin himself had planned it. It was almost like he was humouring him, and this angered Anakin ever further.

It was relentlessly brutal. Their sabers slashed manically, Anakin’s arms aching from the strength of the blows, muscles shaking from over-exertion. He’d grown out of practice during his time in hiding, worrying about Padmé, mourning Obi-Wan, letting his weaknesses control him. From the look in Obi-Wan’s eye, Anakin could tell he knew that he was not in his usual condition. Obi-Wan’s swings were merciless and deathly accurate, narrowly missing his mechno arm.

‘Trying to finish what Dooku started like a good little Sith?’ Anakin taunted, his teeth bared as he slashed at Obi-Wan’s legs.

‘Your mouth always did get you into trouble,’ Obi-Wan purred, devouring Anakin with his eyes.

Anakin ignored the flare of heat that shot up his spine and coiled in his belly at that comment, instead answering with a skilful swing that sent Obi-Wan staggering back.

Anakin leapt over his head with a boost from the Force and took him by surprise, their blades clashing in a deadlock. Their sabers strained under their weight, neither willing to give half an inch.

‘You are wasting your talent, Anakin. I can teach you everything, I will give you _everything!’_ Obi-Wan persisted, his eyes alight with passion.

‘I have everything I want. I have my freedom, and Padmé. There’s nothing _you_ can give me,’ Anakin said in disgust.

Obi-Wan’s face darkened.

‘I’ll take both from you if you don’t stop fighting me. You _will_ join me Anakin, one way or another.’

The coldness of his voice raised goose bumps on Anakin’s flesh, and he faltered. He would never have imagined his master could speak to him that way, not even on his most trying days as a young padawan when he was purposefully trying to annoy Obi-Wan. He should have tried harder to bring him back, maybe there was still something in him worth saving-

Obi-Wan didn’t hesitate to take advantage of Anakin’s fleeting moment of uncertainty. He surged forwards, and Anakin ducked under his blade, attempting to stab his hilt into Obi-Wan’s side. With a flick of his hand he sent Anakin soaring into the air, his lightsaber flying out of his hand, and he landed on the bed with a muffled thump.

His eyes grew large with terror as Obi-Wan advanced. He scrambled onto his knees, tumbling off the bed with searing alarm, reaching out his hand for his fallen saber-

Obi-Wan grabbed his leg and flipped him over, winding him. Anakin surged up against his chest but Obi-Wan wrapped his arms around him in a suffocating bear hug and tackled him to the floor, his knees pinioning Anakin to the ground. He trapped Anakin’s wrists above his head with one hand and held his lightsaber perilously close to Anakin’s neck with the other, holding him at his mercy. The Force crowed with triumph, and Anakin met Obi-Wan’s gaze with a heated glare. 

‘Cease your struggles, Anakin. I’ve beaten you, and you know it.’ There was a imploring quality in his voice that was indisputably genuine, but Anakin didn’t back down.

‘ _Never,_ I’ll _never_ join you _,’_ he panted, his gaze darting between the blade and Obi-Wan’s face, chest heaving with exhaustion and the stirrings of fear.

Obi-Wan smirked.

‘Even now, you just don’t know when to give up.’

He loomed over him, his eyes drinking in Anakin’s face hungrily.

‘You always were a little _brat,_ ’ he inched the lightsaber closer to Anakin’s bared throat when he tried to turn his face away, forcing Anakin to look back at him with a flinch. ‘But maybe that’s part of the reason you drive me so mad. Do you have any idea how long I’ve wanted you? How infatuated I am? How I _burn_ for you? You are reckless, and wild, and _breathtaking._ You are the most infuriatingly perfect creature. I always knew you were special, and that I would be the one to tame you. You were a supernova in the Force from the moment we met, but your light only grew, and suddenly you were twenty and fighting alongside me, so clever and oh so brilliant, grown so rapidly in power and beauty. I knew I had to have you. Had to have you by my side when I inevitably joined my own master again. Had to have you to worship, to bask in your glory.’

His thumb stroked over the jackrabbit pulse of Anakin’s delicate wrists where he held them captive.

‘Of course, it was somewhat of a wildcard when Master Yoda assigned you a padawan. It was a variant I had not foreseen; as you can imagine, I was not pleased. But I am proud of how well you have taught her. You have passed on my lessons admirably.’

His eyes took on a malevolent sheen.

‘You know, it wasn’t guaranteed that Ahsoka would survive the purge-’

‘If you’ve touched her, I’ll _kill_ you,’ Anakin seethed, writhing against the vice grip on his wrists.

Obi-Wan laughed, holding him down with ease.

‘Always so spirited, darling. I promise you, she is quite safe. I know how much you dote on your padawan. Her life is my gift to you, as proof of my love. _Padmé’s_ continued existence in this galaxy, however-’ he paused to make sure Anakin understood his meaning ‘-is up to you.’

Anakin stilled, boneless in Obi-Wan’s grasp, his eyes wide with horror.

‘You don’t mean that…you can’t -!’

‘I assure you Anakin, I’m quite serious.’

‘But she’s a senator! You don’t really believe you’d get away with that?!’

‘I killed Mace Windu. What is one measly senator compared to him?’

Anakin sneered.

‘I don’t believe you. You wouldn’t take on the senate. You’re full of kriffing shit- _ARGH!’_

‘You _really_ don’t want to test me, Anakin. Senator Amidala is on thin ice with me as it is.’

The threat was ominously clear as Obi-Wan ground the hilt of the saber into Anakin’s sensitive collarbone, the metal crushing painfully against the sharp groove. He invaded Anakin’s personal space, their noses almost touching.

‘How do you think I felt, to watch her swoop in and fawn all over you when we were assigned to protect her, hmm? To not only steal you from under my nose, but to _marry_ you in secret? Not only is she a disgrace to her precious senate- she took what was _mine.’_

Obi-Wan’s words simmered with possessiveness, and Anakin gazed at him in terror. His wrists were surely bruised by now.

‘She is far from safe, Anakin, and only you can guarantee her protection. You can come with me freely now with no fuss. Or you can put up a fight, and I will slit her throat and take you anyway. It is your choice.’

It was not a question Anakin had to think about.

He closed his eyes, hoping to block out the sight of the victorious demon in the eyes of his beloved master.

‘…I’ll come with you.’ He muttered.

Obi-Wan tutted, his voice incongruously pleasant.

‘That will not do. I need to hear you louder than that, and look me in the face when you speak, dearest. Let me see those pretty blue eyes.’

Anakin stubbornly kept his eyes shut.

‘Don’t make me ask again, Anakin.’

The warning in his voice set Anakin’s frayed nerves on edge, but he screwed them closed even tighter, preparing for the pain of the lightsaber plunging into his throat-

The Force wrenched at him and Anakin’s eyes snapped open in shock.

‘I’ll come with you! Are you satisfied now-?!’ He cried, his voice breaking on the last word. 

‘There we are. I knew you could follow orders. It seems I did manage to teach you something, after all.’

He sounded so unbearably cheery, his eyes twinkling, and Anakin’s heart ached with the ghost of what they could have been.

‘Why are you doing this? Why are you hurting me?’ he said quietly, sorrow lacing every syllable.

Obi-Wan sighed, deactivating the lightsaber. There was no need for it now. Anakin was finally his.

‘I don’t want to hurt you, dearest. Believe me, it’s the last thing I want. But you refused to see reason. You should be thankful it was me who came to retrieve you, and not Qui-Gonn or Dooku. They would be much less understanding than I am.’

He loosened his grip on Anakin’s wrists, rubbing the skin between his thumb and forefinger to get the circulation flowing.

‘And I’m supposed to be kriffing grateful for that?’ he snarked, though the fight was gone. He couldn’t risk Padmé’s life.

Obi-Wan looked at him in a way that couldn’t be described as anything other than total adoration.

‘You are so strong, Anakin. There’s a fire that burns in you, even when the rest of the night is desolate and empty. It could only ever be you for me. Of course I wouldn’t have let them hurt you.’

Anakin turned his face away.

‘You should have let them come- it would have been less painful.’

Obi-Wan caught his jaw and pulled him back, gazing beseechingly at him as though Anakin was breaking _his_ heart.

‘You only say that because you know no better. It’s not your fault; you too have been blinded by the lies of the Jedi. They indoctrinated you as they did me, but I will change all of that. I will take such good care of you, if you’ll only let me. I know it’s what you always wanted.’

Anakin met his gaze unflinchingly.

‘You’re right. It is what I wanted. I would have given anything to be with you. But you’ve ruined it. I don’t recognise you anymore.’

Something that might have been regret glimmered over Obi-Wan’s face. But it was gone in an instant, replaced instead with determination.

With his free hand, Obi-Wan lightly brushed over his forehead.

‘You are tired, Anakin.’

The Force suggestion shouldn’t have worked on him; he should have been strong enough to resist. He was a ruthless warrior with a cunning mind, the famed ‘hero with no fear’. But whether it was due to Obi-Wan’s proficient skill in the dark side, or Anakin’s emotional and physical exhaustion taking a toll on him- or maybe even the small twisted part of him that was thrilled to be in Obi-Wan’s arms and had accepted his fate- his eyes began to close despite his wishes.

The last things Anakin registered before succumbing to oblivion was a gentle hand carding through his hair, and a triumphant flash of yellow as he was scooped up into strong arms.

‘Sleep now, my love. We have all the time in the world to talk when you awake.’

**Author's Note:**

> This got pretty dark, I wrote this when I was depressed at 4am so idk if it's any good. It's v different from anything I have written before but I may continue this oneshot if there's enough interest. 
> 
> Please leave a comment to let me know what you thought, and thank you for reading 💕


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